What is the difference between HDMI and Component Video. I recently bought an HDMI cable and hooked it up from my cable box to my HD TV. It was not a MONSTER cable as they are stupidly overpriced etc. It was just a normal one. The results as viewed by myself and my wife was that the Component video source from the cable box looks just as good if not better than the HDMI feed. ( these component cables were left with my by Time Warner when they delivered the HD DVR) Any explanations or opinions on this.
You could have an HD TV but not be viewing any HD content. HDMI connections are also communication cable between component processors. (For instance, if you put a BluRay in your player, the TV will switch to HDMI (if it wasn't already).
HDMI is a digital interface. Component video is an analog interface. Depending on your "cable box" and television, the quality of the A/D converters, and the quality of your cables, you may find either to provide a better image.
Generally, in an all digital train, you would use a high quality (NOT monster) HDMI interface, especially at higher resolutions, to avoid D/A-A/D loss.
Depending on your "cable box" and television, the quality of the A/D converters, and the quality of your cables, you may find either to provide a better image.
Generally, in an all digital train, you would use a high quality (NOT monster) HDMI interface, especially at higher resolutions, to avoid D/ A-A/D loss.
Jon
Drop the vernacular and explain in common terms...so he understands. Not so you can express or impress!
HDMI can also carry audio. I switched from HDMI to component on my HD-DVR because the HDTV actually looks a bit better at 1080i with component. And the audio goes into a 5.1 amp via optical cable anyway so no need for the HDMI.
If you are watching a DVD the program material (audio and video) are recorded as a series of 1/0 bits on the DVD. In the US, pre-HD TV was analog, so at some point those 1/0 bits had to be converted to analog to form lines and levels. Older analog TVs had three color guns - red, green and blue, so the 1/0 bits were separated into three analog streams. That's what component video is.
Since no digital to analog conversion is perfect, there is always a little quality loss. Really good conversions had almost imperceptible loss, poor conversions had more.
Digital TV changed all that. A video frame consists of picture elements known as pixels. Each pixel is represented by a collection of bits. The bits for each pixel define the color and intensity of that pixel. Those bits can be taken from the DVD and displayed with no analog conversion needed. Since bits can represent both audio and vidio information, it's no long necessary to have separate cables for each. The interface for connecting a digital device to a digital display is HDMI.
For most consumers, the difference between a good component video and a digital signal is undetectible. However, Hollywood was not keen on having perfect digital copies of their content floating around the world, so they insisted that the interface between the DVD and HD TV be encrypted. In order to get the decryption keys, DVD and TV manufacturers had to agree to certain design standards that would theoretically protect the data from being copied.
I don't know any brands (other than to avoid monster like the plague), as HD isn't my thing. If you are looking for one, go to where HD guys hang out, and ask there. Maybe poke around newegg and see what the geeks say has the best bang for the buck.
In other words, not the most expensive, and not the cheapest. Find one in the middle that everyone says is a damn fine cable. They might even have it at walmart.
Amazon Basics is a good line. If you really want, you can get their braided versions for a few bucks more.
The thing that annoys me about HDMI is that the various version numbers do not reflect the functionality of the cable. The version number (1.1, 1.3a, 1.3b, etc.) refer to the clock rate the cable supports and not necessarily additional features such as back channel communication.
It's a digital protocol and interface. For the typical 3-7 feet cable run, how much you pay or what HDMI cable you use i not going to make any difference. The cable doesn't affect the quality of the A/D or D/ A conversion unless the signal degrades so badly that the receiving end can't distinguish a high level, ie "1" from a low level signal, ie "0". That;s one of the great advantages of digital. If you're going
50+ feet, then I'd consider cable issues.
As for HDMI vs component, except for the HDMI cable part, I agree with John. With HDMI, the conversion from digital to analog occurs in the display. With component, it occurs in the cable,sat box, or DVD player. So, it can depend on the quality of one of those converters versus the other. But in general, I doubt you'd notice the difference. I've tried both on my 42" Sony and I can't notice any difference in picture quality.
Generally, I would agree. However, newer versions of HDMI cables support higher bit rates and suffer less crosstalk. I found I had to replace a couple of very early (read: old) HDMI cables when I upgraded some system components to 1080p which requires the higher bitrates.
Does this help explain anything? "Generally, in an all digital train, you would use a high quality (NOT monster) HDMI interface, especially at higher resolutions, to avoid D/ A-A/D loss. " Simply...no!
I would have thought a complete digital signal would have been better. Component is analog, Hdmi is digital with sound in one cable. Component was out before Hdmi. Somewhere in the chain something isnt optimised for Hdmi, maybe try a different cable box.
If the picture looks fine, just use the component cables. I've hooked my TV up to 2 different inputs using component and HDMI at the same time. I have switched back and forth and I don't see any noticeable difference. HDMI is just more convenient. 1 cable vs. 5.
Also, I have to use component cables, because for some stupid reason the HDMI output on my HD DVR overrides the digital audio output that I need for my stereo receiver.
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